Bruins to play 17 games on national television

The Bruins will play 17 games on national television this season, including seven on NBCSN's 'Wednesday Night Rivalry' package and up to four on broadcast television.

By Dan CagenDaily News staff

The Bruins will play 17 games on national television this season, including seven on NBCSN’s ‘Wednesday Night Rivalry’ package and up to four on broadcast television.

Of the 17 games, 12 will be exclusive to NBC or NBC Sports Network. The others will broadcast locally on NESN, meaning the team-owned network will air 70 of the Bruins’ 82 regular-season games.

The 12 exclusive NBC Sports appearances ties the Bruins for the league high with the Flyers, Capitals, Kings and Sharks. That includes one meeting against the Canadiens, a Feb. 8 Sunday night game that will be aired on NBCSN; the other three Montreal-Boston games will air on NESN.

The Bruins’ season opener Oct. 8 vs. the Flyers will run on NBCSN as a rivalry game. Other rivalry games include Oct. 15 at Detroit, Nov. 12 at Toronto, Dec. 17 at Minnesota, Jan. 7 at Pittsburgh, Feb. 4 at the New York Rangers and April 8 at Washington. Perhaps the rivalry around the Bruins and Wild centers around the 1976 Frozen Four meeting of Boston University and Minnesota.

The only definite appearance on NBC is a Feb. 22 matinee at Chicago, a rematch of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final. Other potential appearances on the broadcast network include three ‘flex games’ which could air on NBC or NBCSN — March 8 vs. Detroit, March 15 at Washington and April 11 at Tampa Bay, the latter being a non-exclusive broadcast.